Hand Wash Silk?

I bought a beautiful but expensive dress in USA this summer and I want to take care of it well so that it lasts a long time. The label says it's 100% silk and to dry clean only. It is a solid color and shows spots easily. I sent it to the dry cleaners once after I was back in China, and I can see that the Chinese dry cleaner was too rough for it. I remember a friend telling me that I could hand wash silk if I used cold water, gentle detergent, and didn't put it in the clothes dryer. I don't want to ruin my dress! Can anyone give me advice or tell me if the handwashing sounds okay?

Hey Meiguoren! I've always handwashed all my silks . . used to have a lot of silk blouses for work when I was a legal secretary in Florida. Just remember our water here on the mainland has a lot of minerals in it, so you might get some discoloration from that. Might be worth using the bottled water if you don't wear it that often. And I use what i think is a detergent for baby's clothes. It comes in a small, round white bottle (round, not as in a cylindar but on the vertical plane)with a bright pink lid. Usually costs around 17-18 RMB at Park n'Shop or Jusco or just about anywhere. Most stores carry it. They also make a fabric softener, but that's in a bigger bottle, even though it's also white with bright pink lid.


SMS me if you want me to bring you an empty bottle so you can see which one it is.

A professional dry cleaners is usually the best way to go. Perhaps the top hotels might be able to help.


For handwash, use cool water and a mild detergent like Woolite. And iron inside out while damp.


For machine wash, again use cool water and the Woolite detergent for washing machines and put the dress in a lingerie bag, this stops it from stretching. Also remove any buttons.

Thanks! I do have some hand-wash detergent here at my house and your answers have given me confidence to try the hand wash. But I would still like to see the bottle, Molly, to see what you recommend! Maybe we could meet one day soon ...?!